Football Notebook: Brady Davis named OC at TJC; Jake Parker playing in Germany

Published 6:00 am Monday, July 11, 2022

Brady Davis, the strong-armed quarterback who played at Illinois State and who helped develop standout signal caller General Booty, has been named the Tyler Junior College offensive coordinator, TJC head coach Tanner Jacobson announced.

Davis spent last year coaching quarterbacks for the Apaches under head coach Thomas Rocco, who is now at Sam Houston State University.

Davis, who played at Starkville High School in Mississippi, started his college playing career at the University of Memphis before transferring to Illinois State University. He suffered a knee injury at Memphis.

At Illinois State, Davis completed 54% of his passes for 3,514 yards with 28 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Following his collegiate career he spent time in Dallas Cowboys rookie minicamp before pursuing a future in coaching.

In his first year with the Apaches, Davis tutored quarterback Booty who led the nation in passing yards. Booty has committed to continue his playing career at the University of Oklahoma.

“We are excited to announce the promotion of Brady Davis to Offensive Coordinator,” said Jacobson, the Apaches new head coach. “Brady has brought an energized presence and passion toward the game of football. This past season, Brady was pivotal in the development of General Booty, mentoring the nation’s leader in passing yards in the NJCAA. With a keen football mind, Brady will continue to be an excellent mentor and leader for the student-athletes of Tyler Junior College. Brady truly demonstrates what it means to be an Apache, as he strives for excellence on and off the field and is someone who everyone at TJC looks forward to working with in the future.”

The Apaches open their season on Aug. 27 against Resolution Prep in Tyler. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Earl Campbell Field at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium.

The remainder of the TJC schedule includes:

Sept. 3 — at Kilgore, 7 p.m.; Sept. 17 — vs. Trinity Valley, 7 p.m.; Oct. 1 — at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, 3 p.m.; Oct. 8 — vs. New Mexico Military, 2 p.m.; Oct. 15 — at Blinn, 3 p.m.; Oct. 22 — vs. Cisco, 3 p.m.; Oct. 29 — vs. Kilgore, 3 p.m.; Nov. 5 — at Navarro, 3 p.m.

JAKE PARKER IN GERMANY

Jake Parker, the former Whitehouse High School standout who became an NCAA Division III All-America wide receiver at Howard Payne University, has been signed by a team in Germany.

The Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns play in the German Football League, which plays American football. The GFL was founded in 1979. The original name was American-Football-Bundesliga, but changed to GFL in 1999.

Parker, 26, joins the Unicorns, a powerhouse club, from HPU where he caught 123 passes for 2,282 yards and 21 touchdowns over three years. The 6-0, 200-pound receiver was twice named All-America and twice a first team All-American Southwest Conference.

“I am coming to the Unicorns because it’s a great organization with a winning culture,” Parker said. “I also had a connection to head coach Jordan Neuman through Hunter Sims, who was director of athletics at HPU and a former Unicorns quarterback.”

Parker is expected to add depth to the squad at receiver in the second half of the season and will probably see action in the Unicorns’ away game on July 16 in Marburg, Germany against the Marburg Mercenaries.

“I’m very happy that we were able to win Jake Parker,” Schwäbisch Hall’s head coach Jordan Neuman said. “He’s a strong receiver that the NFL has also noticed.”

Parker was invited to camps for the New England Patriots, Jacksonville Jaguars and Kansas City Chiefs.

Parker said his goals at Schwäbisch Hall is: “Win every game and bring the German Bowl back to Schwäbisch Hall!”

“This is such a great opportunity for Jake to join one of the premier teams in the German League,” said HPU head football coach Jason Bachtel. “I also think that this is awesome for Howard Payne University and Yellow Jacket Football. Jake will be a great ambassador for our University and our program.”

Since 2011, the Unicorns have played in nine of the last 11 German Bowls. The only final they missed was in 2013 and no game was held in the pandemic year of 2020. Hall has won four titles and finished runner-up in 2019 and 2021.

The Unicorns are 5-0 and are coming off a 48-17 win over Ravensburg Razorbacks on July 2. The squad has also won the last two Central European Football League Bowl — June 26, 2021 over the Innsbruck, Austria team of Swarco Raiders Tirol (22-16 in Innsbruck) and June 27, 2022 over the Italian team of Parma Panthers (42-17 in Schwäbisch Hall).

Schwäbisch Hall is located between Nuremberg and Stuttgart in southern Germany. It is about 150 miles northwest of Munich.